According to scholars, the family pronounced the name brun-tee, though in the 21st century world it's commonly pronounced bron-tay. (People say Matt-ee-uh). There are 1,000 census records available for the last name Bronte. It was named after Lord Nelson, the 1st Duke of Bronté. It is always pronounced Bron-Tay in the US. Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. The Bronte Surf Lifesaving Club was founded in 1903 and claims to be the oldest surf lifesaving club in the world. I did my dissertation on the Brontës and read somewhere that they pronounced it 'brun-tee" when they were alive. Lead female character in the movie "Green Card," played by Andie MacDowell. Bronte is a beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. © 2020 Wild Sky Media All rights reserved. Here's what the Oxford English Dictionary has to say about pronunciation (they go with bron-tay): https://en.oxforddictionari... How do you know this? Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Bronte, literary sisters of the early 19th century. Actually the Bronte sisters pronounced it Brontee (the name was originally Brunty). Many people first noticed the name in the film Green Card, as the name of the Andie MacDowell character. A great added extra with the pretty park and BBQ areas. So in that sense, either would be correct. Bronte is located about 2.5 km south of Bondi Beach. It was named after Lord Nelson, the 1st Duke of Bronté. You will receive an email (no more than once per day) summarizing any new mentions of Bronte on Nameberry. It is much more popular now than it was ten years ago in Victoria, Australia. These 16 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Bronte. The correct pronunciation is Bront-ee, Bront-ay, though commonly used, is incorrect. The most common responses for religion No Religion 38.6%, Catholic 24.8% and Anglican 12.3%. Their father changed the spelling of the family surname from Brunty to Brontë, possibly to make it coincide with Greek βροντή meaning "thunder". In the US, I've never heard bron-tee -- it's always bron-tay -- but obviously that's the standard pronunciation in Australia. Read more. Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. Probably derived from the Bronte sisters, the famous authors (e.g. He later moved back to England where he became a writer with The Times. Bronte has an important surfing culture. The line opened to Waverley in 1890, then to Bronte in 1911. Bronte has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 6,733 residents in Bronte. Rare but found in Australia from time to time. But I am inclined to call them 'brun-tee' if that was what they called themselves. In Australia, the name is more likely to take inspiration from Bronte Beach in Sydney. However if the Bronte sister said (tay) that would make a difference to me! Please add to or correct the information provided by other members of the Nameberry community. Comments and insights on the name Bronte. Nicknames we sometimes call our Bronte are... Bront, Brontesaurus, The Bront, Jont and BeeBee. Initially, I read this as BRONT and Brontë as BRONTA. Bronte Beach sits on Nelson Bay, surrounded by Bronte Park. In Australia, the name is more likely to take inspiration from Bronte Beach in Sydney. It's Bron-tee in Australia mostly because we have a suburb with that name in sydney.